Preview: Women’s basketball takes on Buffalo in battle between MAC leaders
Central Michigan head coach, Sue Guevara, instructs senior guard Presley Hudson during a game against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 26 at McGuirk Arena.
After a comfortable 71-61 win over Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan is back at it again. This time, the stakes are even higher.
The Chippewas (14-5, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) face off against Buffalo (14-4, 6-1 MAC) at 1 p.m. Feb. 2 in McGuirk Arena.
"I like playing Buffalo," said CMU coach Sue Guevara. "They're a really good basketball team, but I like playing them because they bring out the best in us, and we bring out the best in them."
Since the Chippewas’ Jan. 29 contest at Bowling Green State was rescheduled due to severe weather, CMU hasn’t played a game for a full week.
Against EMU, senior guard Presley Hudson broke the CMU career record for points scored. Hudson has accumulated 2,023 points in her time as a Chippewa, a number that will likely grow against Buffalo.
Averaging 20.4 points and 5.8 assists per game, Hudson leads CMU’s scoring attack. Senior forward Reyna Frost has had a tremendous season as well, pulling down an average of 12.2 rebounds to go with 19.0 points per game.
The Chippewas sit alone atop the MAC West, while Buffalo heads the East Division.
"I have a lot of respect for how they play," Guevara said. "I respect (Buffalo coach) Felisha (Legette-Jack), she's a friend of mine. You just know you're getting a physical, bruising game."
The Bulls have strung six-straight victories, the latest being a 93-64 beatdown of Northern Illinois.
Buffalo senior guard Cierra Dillard broke the 1,000-point mark in the win over NIU. It took Dillard a mere 53 games to reach the milestone, making her the fastest in program history to amass 1,000 points.
Dillard makes a case for MAC Player of the Year thus far, buoying the Bulls with her 25.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Junior forward Summer Hemphill adds 13.1 points per game for Buffalo while hauling in 9.7 rebounds.
"Both teams have good inside-outside players," Guevara said. "We've played each other in the MAC Championship the last couple years, so it's a heavyweight fight."
With two of the MAC’s premier players in Hudson and Dillard squaring off, the matchup between Chippewas and Bulls will presumably be an impressive display of scoring.
The two MAC leaders are pitted against each other in a game that plays a crucial role in determining which team has control over the rest of the conference.
It could be the deciding factor for nabbing the No. 1 overall bid in the MAC Tournament.
